


Arms of the Ocean

by Sappholez



Category: Original Work
Genre: Lesbian Character, Mermaids, Ocean, Sailors, Sirens, it's gay but that's not the focus this time, never trust a mermaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25060543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sappholez/pseuds/Sappholez
Summary: Two sailors are sent out to scout out a bay in a rowboat. In the early morning fog, they find something else.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	Arms of the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little story that has been sitting in my brain for a bit that suddenly decided to come out. It's an original work which is kind of surprising to me but hopefully it's still a nice read.  
> Lesbian sailors, that's all I got.  
> Enjoy!

It was early in the morning when she and Liz were sent out, into the fog that surrounded the bay they had approached overnight. The little rowboat they had climbed into creaked as they pulled the oars back and forth, dipping below the gentle waves to propel them forward, towards land. The ship lay behind them, unable to approach the isle for fear of becoming stranded on hidden banks of sand or worse, rocks laying beneath the waters.

The gentle splashing of the paddles slipping into the water was accompanied only by the soft sound of the waves moving around them and their own laboured breaths. The salty smell Ann had grown accustomed to out at sea was less intense, stifled by the colder, fresher air that seemed to roam amongst the mist.

The silhouette of land lay to their right, sand rising from underneath the water, forming one of the edges that enveloped the bay. The two women adjusted the course of their wooden vessel, steering it to the right, into the bay. The fog seemed thicker here, their field of view shrinking farther. The waters around them calmed, seemingly stilling almost completely, the ripples formed by their continued movement serving as the only disturbance of the mirror-like surface.

“Weird.” Liz’s voice sounded, drawing Ann’s gaze over to her. It was strange to hear someone speaking in this atmosphere. It almost felt forbidden to break the serenity they had seemingly floated into. Their eyes met. Brown deepened to almost black in the dimmed morning light through the mist. Blue tinged greyer than usual through the same effect.

“I was thinking beautiful, really.” Ann replied, keeping her voice low, as if to avoid disturbing the scene. She wasn’t sure if she earned the chuckle that followed because of her words or because of how she had spoken them.

“Figures you’d say that.” Liz said, grin still on her lips, her nose crinkling as it always did when she was teasing her. Despite the comment, Ann didn’t have to ask for her companion to comply when she pulled her paddle up out of the water, keeping it steady to avoid breaking the surface again. Liz was always willing to humour her. Ann appreciated that.

Their boat floated along farther into the bay as they pulled the oars into it with a dull, heavy sound, letting themselves cruise through the fog. The silence was fragile, broken by the small creaks of the wood underneath them and their own small, shuffling movements as they turned to look around, but it returned each time. Ann tucked a piece of dark hair that had slipped out of her low ponytail behind her ear as she peeked over the side of the boat, into the water below.

“Guess morning duties aren’t all bad—” Liz had started before Ann raised a hand, signalling her to stop as she perked up. She had heard something strange right as her companion had started speaking, it almost sounded like another voice. Concentrating on the sounds around her, Ann stared ahead, deeper into the bay. She thought she had heard it there.

“What?” Liz spoke up again, sounding confused a little miffed, earning a shush from Ann. She could’ve sworn she saw something just ahead, sticking out of the water, but as their vessel moved along slowly, nothing came into view. Closing her eyes, Ann tried as best she could to listen for movement, or something else, maybe.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Ann’s eyes snapped open as she glanced at her own sun-tanned wrist, the dark skinned hand of her companion wrapped around it. Meeting Liz’s questioning gaze only for a moment, she pointed forward, into the mist.

“I thought I heard something earlier. And then I saw something right there. At least, I think…” She trailed off, practically whispering. Ann turned her attention back to the bay, eyes searching for something, anything.

Again, it seemed Liz was humouring her, because instead of speaking up and breaking the silence again, Ann felt a tug at her arm, silently drawing her attention to her companion, who had an eyebrow raised at her. Moving carefully to avoid making a sound, Ann brought a finger up to her lips before turning back to face the water.

It was calm, serene. Without their paddling, it was almost impossible to see any signs of movement at all aside from the displacement of water caused by their little rowboat gently cruising along. She held her breath, trying to minimise any sound she was making. Maybe if she was quiet enough…

The first sound she heard was a sigh behind her. The second was a hum from ahead, just far enough into the mist that she couldn’t see the source of it. She perked up, the wood creaking again as she moved, leaning forward to peer into the fog, willing it to part and show her what was making that sound.

For a few seconds, there was only silence and her own breathing filling her ears. Then, there was another hum, from just to the right of where she had heard it last time. This time, she stilled herself. She was rewarded with another hum, and another.

Slowly, a melody was starting to form. It was gentle, very slow at first, as the notes were far apart. As time went on, Ann held her position, her muscles tense as she willed herself not to move and break the spell. It seemed as if the sound was slowly circling the boat. She was afraid if she made any sound it would stop.

It was lovely, calming, soothing. Despite the worries, she felt herself relax slowly as she listened. It moved around, growing slowly in volume. For a moment it seemed to come from everywhere. Then the silence returned. Panic rose in Ann’s chest. It shouldn’t end yet.

Then it was back, in front of her. It sounded like it was coming from just in front of the boat that had come to a slow stop. Tilting her head carefully, she peeked around the front of the vessel that was sticking out just above the water. There was something in the water.

Slowly, she got up, stepping over the bench in front of her, she moved to the front. Every movement was careful. Whatever it was, she wanted to avoid scaring it away. She didn’t want it to stop that wonderful melody.

As she approached the edge of the boat, Ann kneeled, wrapping her fingers around the outer side as she leaned forward. She needed to see what was making this lovely sound. When she did, it stole her breath away.

Just below the still surface of the water was a woman. Her dark hair dancing gently in the invisible current. Her skin a lovely olive tint, soft and unmarred. Her eyes a brilliant amber colour that seemed to pierce even through the mist, unaffected by it. Her lips beautifully full, tinted a light shade of red, parted just slightly as they let the beautiful melody slip from between them. And she was looking at Ann.

Mouth falling open, a part of her thought how stupid she must look to this beautiful woman. All scraggly hair that hadn’t been washed in a few days, scarred skin from fights and other mistakes, dirty clothes that were too loose on her, gaping at her. That didn’t seem to matter. The woman smiled. The melody halted.

Before Ann got the time to regret its absence, the woman drifted closer, slowly coming into reach. Ann watched as she broke through the surface, her hair obscuring part of her upper body as it fell sleek against her skin in gorgeous gentle waves. She giggled, the sound pulling at something in Ann’s chest as she quickly snapped her mouth shut, hoping that was the last of her embarrassing herself in front of this unbelievable beauty.

There was a moment where they just stared at each other. Ann, feeling the warmth having risen to her cheeks, but not minding it. The woman, smiling serenely, just floating in the water that seemed to embrace her, remaining undisturbed by her presence. Ann wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that.

Then, the woman raised a hand, breaking the surface gently as she reached up to rest it on Ann’s fingers on the edge of the boat. Her touch was warm as she slipped her fingers between Ann’s. The smile she gave her was almost shy, inviting. Her thumb brushed against Ann’s fingers, as her eyes flicked down to the sailor’s lips for a long second. Her teeth grazed her lip as her gaze came back up to meet Ann’s unbroken one. The pull in Ann’s chest becoming stronger.

“Come closer…” Said the woman, somehow sounding more lovely than the melody she had gifted Ann with. Her voice was inviting, smooth, the same desire Ann felt in her chest just below the surface of it.

She didn’t even hear the wood creak as she leaned closer, letting the woman pull her hand from the boat, towards her face. Impossibly soft lips pressed against her palm as those gorgeous amber eyes held her gaze. A shaky gasp escaped her as she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She had to be closer. Her other hand let go of the edge reaching forward to cup the woman’s face. The smile she earned made her heart skip a beat. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

The sound of a splash broke Liz from the trance she was in. Only a moment ago, Ann had been right in front of her, but now her seat was empty. The confusion was quickly replaced by panic as she saw movement in the corner of her eye. At the front of the little rowboat, Liz saw Ann, one foot on the edge of the boat, her torso already leaning over it towards the water.

“Ann!” She called out, scrambling to her feet, jumping over the bench in front of her, all the while watching her companion climb out of the boat. Liz lunged forward, grasping at Ann’s boot as it disappeared over the side of the boat, her nails digging into the leather as her other hand swung to make a grab at its owner’s leg.

With a splash and a quick slipping sound of leather against skin, all Liz was left with was a boot in her hands and an empty boat. Panicked, she kneeled where her companion had been, peering over the side of the vessel into the water.

There was no sign of Ann. All she saw were amber eyes staring up at her before disappearing into the depths below.


End file.
